Bank of America Corp DE Has $8.87 Million Stake in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI)

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Navient Co. (NASDAQ:NAVI - Free Report) by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 667,372 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 273,483 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.62% of Navient worth $8,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NAVI. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Navient by 815.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Navient in the fourth quarter valued at $167,000. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Navient by 757.3% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 14,737 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 13,018 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Navient in the fourth quarter valued at about $196,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Navient during the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. 97.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Navient Trading Down 0.7%

NAVI traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $13.29. 25,648 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 765,578. The company's fifty day moving average price is $12.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 1.38. Navient Co. has a fifty-two week low of $10.53 and a fifty-two week high of $16.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.35, a quick ratio of 9.49 and a current ratio of 9.48.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.09. Navient had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 2.96%. The business had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $150.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Navient Co. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Navient Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Navient's payout ratio is 128.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NAVI. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Navient from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen lowered shares of Navient from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Navient from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Navient from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Navient from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.93.

Navient Company Profile

Navient Corporation provides technology-enabled education finance and business processing solutions for education, health care, and government clients in the United States. It operates through three segments: Federal Education Loans, Consumer Lending, and Business Processing. The company owns Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans that are insured or guaranteed by state or not-for-profit agencies; and performs servicing on its portfolios, as well as federal education loans held by other institutions.